The doctor said my stomach emptying rate was 6.5 hours and that the top level of normal is about 1.5 to 2 hours. And that was with only radioactive scrambled eggs after a 12 hour fast, no fiber in sight! Huh, no wonder acid was splashing back up out of there into my esophagus! I was on Weight Watchers...you know..high fiber whole grain, heck, even my breakfast cereal had 10 grams of fiber! My poor tummy must have been full to the top most of the time trying to deal with all that fiber. Except maybe mornings, which also explains why I didn't have much heartburn in the first 2-3 hours of the morning/

He said he doesn't know what caused it in me but it could be viral and if so it could possibly go away in a few months. He said that often over time people gain in amount and variety of food they can eat, and so can eat more normally (including less frequently). He didn't give me any meds for the GP; I'm just to work with the diet absent complications that don't exist now.

I told him that I actually felt the best I had in 13 months & he said to try stopping the Zantac & if that works, after a month, to try to stop the second Nexium. He doesn't think that I'll ever be able to do without all the Nexium but I might be able to get down to one a day. I'm to go back to see him again in six months but not to be afraid to call if I need to or if anything changes for the worse.

Here's hoping that all will improve to the point that it goes away, and that I can cut out most of the meds for the GERD. If it doesn't go away entirely, well, it's still a vast improvement over the constant heartburn & reflux, frankly.

Jo

Today was a good relaxing day.

I woke up late & made it from bed to church in ten minutes. Not bad! LOL!

I watched "Lean On Me" on TV. I'd never seen it before. I think I read the story in Readers Digest though. I take it it was done in the early 80's based on the clothes and hairstyles? The scary thought is that I must've looked like that then. Yeeks.

I decided to defrost all that frozen fruit (pineapple, peach, cantaloupe, kiwi - mix) and puree it and just keep it in the fridge like that since I'd only be having it in smoothies and it had to be pureed. It tempted me & I mixed a 1/2 c. of the pureed mixture with a 1/2 c. of vanilla yogurt for my afternoon snack. It was really good! Yum! And no adverse affects. YAY! So it gets added to the repertoire.

I also made a new recipe for lunch that tasted great & didn't cause any problems (I modified it by leaving out the sun-dried tomatoes the original recipe called for):

FETTUCCINE WITH SPINACH & FETA

8 oz. Fettuccine

1 c. reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth

10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

1/3 c. crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the fettuccine until just tender. Drain well.
Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, bring the broth, spinach, and garlic to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until spinach is warmed through, about 5 minutes.
Stir the ricotta and pepper into the saucepan and cook about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the pasta and feta, and toss to combine. Makes four servings.
[If you don't have GP & you want to include the sun-dried tomatoes, put 1/3 cup of them in the saucepan with the spinach & broth.]

Since there's only one of me, I've got 3 more servings in the fridge for later in the week.

In the afternoon, I went to see Ironman with the free movie pass I'd gotten the other week for watching Indiana Jones in a theatre where the A/C had conked out (for me, it only meant I didn't have to wear the sweater I'd brought, but I took the free ticket they were handing everyone after the show anyway). I enjoyed Ironman. I've never seen the comic book, but I liked the movie. I like Robert Downey, jr. for some reason, and Gwyneth Paltrow & his relationship was nicely done (though I wish they'd at least have kissed). Good story, good effects. And the theatre is brand new with digital picture. Digital is definitely the way to see a sort of science-fiction-y, tech-y film. All those graphics, Crisp! Very nice. (And it did some great things to his eyes too...sigh...)

I have tomorrow off. In the afternoon I have my first appointment with my gastroenterologist since the diagnosis. Although I'm adjusting well now & I feel a lot better on this diet than I did before I started it, I have to admit I'm hoping that he tells me that this isn't permanent. Anyway, I'll spend the rest of the evening putting together my list of questions to ask him. I wonder if at this time tomorrow I'll know anything more than I do now?

Jo

One of my cats went anorexic earlier this year while I was on vacation
and lost a lot of weight, putting her perilously close to liver
failure (fatty liver). Her skin even turned yellow. She scared me to death! The vet had to put a feeding tube in the side of her neck and I had to inject medication and high calorie glop through it 3-4 times a s day for 7 weeks. But she eventually started eating on her own and has now had the tube removed. Now, she's even starting to get chubby!

This all happened before I got my GP diagnosis. Oddly enough the
experience has sort of comforted me as I sort out what is happening to
me and how to live this way. I know how much I love my kitty and how
much care I took of her. I figure that God loves me at least as much
as I love my kitty, which is a comfort and gives me confidence that I
will get this figured out. (I told my pastor this story & he says God loves me a lot more than I love my kitty, which is even more comforting.)

Yesterday I woke up feeling very bloated and icky and still "full", so I didn't eat much yesterday. I did have my regular breakfast (cereal & milk & juice), but I stuck with things that were liquid (broth, Ensure) or colloidal liquid (pudding, jello) for the rest of the day. I took off work early to go to the dentist. A new dentist. I hadn't been in awhile because I didn't like the guy my former dental practice replaced my dentist with, and well, inertia. So by the time I get to this one, because something hurts, naturally there are issues to be dealt with. Sigh. Anyway, I just went home after, not back to work. I just watched all the shows I had recorded & vegged out.

Today I feel much better. I tried a small pita bread & 2T. spinach/artichoke hummus for a snack. I love that stuff, used to eat lots, but the nutritionist said not more than 2 T a day if it works to me at all. It worked! Felt nothing bad after, not even close. Yay! back on the menu! And then, I had the small pirogies (7 of 'em - potato & cheese) with lite sour cream and 1/2 c. each spinach and applesauce for lunch. Feel fine now.

Well, time to get out of the house for a bit.

I'm awfully tired tonight. Today was my long day at work. I work a condensed schedule three days at 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM (Thursday in one week and Monday & Tuesday in the alternating week) and six days at 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM and get every other Monday off. Usually the long days don't bother me but today I felt icky & bloated all day and since about 3:00 PM just real tired.

I've had a day of interruptions. I couldn't get the work I'd planned to do done because people (superiors) kept interrupting me with other projects to do ASAP. I got all the ASAP projects done but nothing that I actually wanted to do & get off my desk got done. A bit of an aggravating day.

I tried to get rid of the stress after work by going for a walk. It was rather chilly here today & grey but it was a nice walk. I put on a sweatshirt (in June!) & headed out. I saw 8 bunnies, 5 squirrels, a very friendly old dog & some yappy ones behind a fence. It helped.

I felt too full to eat tonight so I think I'll just let it slide tonight.

I'm thinking about a hot bath and an early bed.

Earlier today ("today" being technically yesterday for me ) I noticed that not only did I have no heartburn, but I also didn't even have the acid taste in my mouth any more! Yay! If I have to eat funny to get to this point, it's well worth it!

Of course I got overconfident & blew it at dinner & got the heartburn & acid back and some stomach pain and internal bruised feeling. But not as bad as with the meatloaf last time. This is not a good disorder to have if you've got bad food impulse control. I looked at the serving and knew that it was bigger than a cup, and knew that I didn't feel hungry - but I WANTED it. I've obviously got to find a substitute activity for emotional eating!

It's turned quite chilly here. It figures. I'd wanted to try a smoothie but now I'm too cold to even be interested! I picked up some frozen fruit (a peach, pineapple, kiwi, mango, cantaloupe mix as it had the least fiber by far) & I'm going to use it & vanilla yogurt to make my own smoothie...after it gets warmer!

I watched So You Think You Can dance tonight. I just loved Twitch & Kherington! So beautiful. Second favorite was probably Kourtni & Gev, then Kourtney & Matt, then Chelsea & Mark. The others didn't do much for me.

Ron & I are planning our trip to Maine in the Summer. I am so looking forward to that. We love Maine! And, since the gas prices, and thus the airfare, went so high, we've had to cut back on how often we see each other this year so I am really missing him. But it's good to be planning this together. It gives us something to look forward to. I've got to figure out how to eat while traveling but we'll figure it out. I love travel; I AM going to figure it out!

But, it's late again & I've got to get to bed.

Goodnight All,

Jo